The best way to let an employee go

It’s the unpleasant reality of being a manager or running a business: at some point, you’re going to have to fire some employees or lay them off. Here's how to handle it both legally and professionally.

• Keep Your Feelings Out of It. You might have to let someone go for reasons totally beyond your control—a recession, changes in the marketplace —or because the employee has behaved in appropriately or just isn’t getting the job done. Whatever the reason, you need to do it right or run the risk of incurring a lawsuit or the wrath of a former staff member at best, and a hefty lawsuit at worst. Don’t tell the employee how bad you feel, or that you’re only doing this because you have to. Remain as objective as possible.
• Have Paperwork to Back Yourself Up. You can’t just tell someone, "You're fired." You need to document the process thoroughly, including formal warnings, any employee reviews that prove a problem existed, or documentation of problems at the company that are leading to this person’s being laid off. Otherwise, you're opening yourself up to the potential for a wrongful termination lawsuit.
• Be Aware of Different Rules for Downsizing. Not only will you need documentation to justify laying people off, but you’ll need to be able to support your decisions as to which employees would go. In addition to proof of the business’ justification for downsizing, you’ll need to be able to produce the selection criteria you used for choosing the people you did. Make sure you can answer these five questions:
  1. What is the reason for the firing/layoff and do I have all documentation to support that decision?
  2. What is the employee's background and history with the company?
  3. Am I treating this employee the same as I’d treat any other employee? (e.g., if someone is being fired for a policy violation, would any other employees also be fired for the same violation?)
  4. Will this layoff or firing help our business objectives?
  5. Have I followed internal policies and procedures for discipline?
• Be Ready for Questions. When you have to fire an employee, you know the situation must be handled with sensitivity and tact, which you can practice. But in reality, the person will most likely be upset and have questions for you that you’ll need to be ready to answer. Try to be respectful but succinct — don't give more information than necessary, or you might say something that could come back to haunt you.
• Have Paperwork Ready to Go. Make sure anything an employee needs to know — COBRA information, final pay, benefits administration, nondisclosure agreements— are completed, filed, to make sure you have a proper paper trail.

If your company does not have an employment lawyer or a human resources professional well-versed in the legalities of your state, you may want to review your methods with them before putting them into practice. And if you need help with employee life cycle issues such as terminations, Complete Payroll can help.

Give us a call today at 888-237-5800 or find out more about our HR solutions online